Anti-Health Care Fight Is Un-Christian

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There are protesters who have been standing
outside of a pediatrician’s office almost daily since at least the summer. Why?
Someone else in that same tiny complex is offering abortions. A woman who has taken her special needs daughter to that
pediatrician’s office for more than 20 years was recently told by her
minister’s wife that she needed to switch pediatricians. Abortion is
“murder,” of course, so going anywhere near the “scene of the crime” must make
her a co-conspirator.

On the opposite side of town is a Catholic organization made
up of young people who were praying the rosary daily in hopes of a veto on the
law that required Catholic employers to provide health care that included birth
control coverage. Furthering their attack on small families are two Republican candidates
for president. Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney seem to want to reverse the bill
that legalized the sale of contraception.

Yes, the Bible says “Be fruitful.” The
Bible also says to take care of children. Statistics from UNICEF report that in
2009 roughly 2.1 million children are currently orphaned in America. Who is
taking care of them? Should anyone be so adamantly against birth control when
they’re also clearly unwilling to help take care of the result from a lack of
birth control?

Before abortion was legalized, women were forced to take to
back alleys in order to end unwanted pregnancies. Those terminations consisted
of the use of things like scalding water or hangers. Many women contracted
infections from those unsterile and unsafe methods. Too many women died from
those infections. Why wasn’t anyone looking out for them?

Many of the comments we’ve received at CityBeat in response to coverage of
these issues have focused on the sinfulness of abortion and birth control (and,
of course, homosexuality). Why are they overlooking all the other “sins” the
bible suggests?

Click the jump for a list of all the crazy things the Old Testament says are also sins.

Here’s a list of things the Old Testament says
are also sins:

• Turning away from foreigners (Leviticus 19:33)

• Tattoos (Leviticus 19:28)

• Working on “The Sabbath” (Leviticus 19:3)

• Slander/Gossip (Leviticus 19:16)

• Having sex with your
wife while she’s on her cycle (Leviticus 18:19)

“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the
sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:28)

Seems legit.

Christ’s sacrifice should solve all the
problems. Except, it doesn’t. People are still being chastised for their
“sins.” Why? The Bible doesn’t say, “Christ was sacrificed once to take away
the sins of Christians.” Nor does
is say, “Christ was sacrifice once to take away the sins of many … except the
gays and the whores.”

The bible does say, however, that none of
us are sin-free and to “Let he without sin cast the first stone,” (John 8:7). Splitting
hairs over the equality of sins is pointless. If you’re a Christian, you believe
that we are all sinners. The big picture is that God tells you to stop condemning
your fellow brother, sister and human being and look at yourself, instead. It’s
commanded right here:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s
eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your
brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a
plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
(Matthew 7:3-5)

You think birth control is a sin? That’s cool. But
it’s not your job to keep people from sinning. Your job is to keep yourself
from sinning. God gave us free will for a reason: He wants humans to each
decide whether they want to follow him or not. By not allowing people to make
their own choices, you’re nullifying the very essence of that free will.

Remember this: “I tell you that in the same way there will
be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine
righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7)